FREDERICKTOWN — The 2009 season was an incredible one for the Fredericktown Freddies boys cross country team.
Fittingly, the Mid-Buckeye Conference Champion Freddies placed three runners on the 2009 Mount Vernon News All-Area Cross Country Team.
Isaac Potes, who landed a berth in the State Cross Country Championships despite a hamstring injury and the resulting layoff, is named All-Area for the third straight year. He and Delaney McGuire are the 2009 Mount Vernon News Cross Country Co-runners of the Year.
For Potes, the year started out with some pretty lofty hopes.
“My original plan was to be top three in the state,” said Potes. “I was hoping for a mid- to low 15 by the end of the year. I finished second in our first meet. I thought that it was going to be a really good year considering that I usually don’t run that fast a first meet. I ran three races at around 16:01 before I got injured. After the injury, it all went downhill because I lost a lot of my fitness over the next three weeks and, after that I was just trying to get through the rest of the season.”
McGuire, a Freddies’ senior who ran second to Potes all season long, took first place at the MBC Championship. He also led the Freddies to a 14th-place finish at Scioto Downs as Potes battled his ailing hamstring but managed to finish the race.
“It’s an honor to be Co-runner of the Year,” said McGuire. “It was a tough season course-wise because all our courses were muddy. Our whole team was solid. It turned out great for us. We couldn’t have asked for a better season. We started slow in the first couple of meets and than we stepped it up and later, Isaac got hurt and we stepped it up even more.”
It was just before the MBC Championship, when Potes got hurt, that all eyes turned to McGuire whose rock star sunglasses might have helped to hide his nervousness.
“I was kind of scared, actually,” said McGuire. “I didn’t know if I could fill his shoes.”
“I never really told Delaney anything,” said Potes. “He just kind of took over and did what he was supposed to do and I’m glad he did. It’s really frustrating to get injured in the most important part of your season.”
As he crossed the finish line in first place, McGuire was greeted with the words, “Nice job, Isaac.” It was symbolic of the fact that he had stepped up and done his job.
“I get mistaken for Isaac sometimes,” said McGuire. “I don’t know how. He’s six-foot-something and he’s got shorter hair. I just don’t know how.”
Sean Kennedy, who was third at the MBC, was also part of the Freddies “big three.” Like McGuire, Kennedy’s appearance at Scioto Downs was the second of his career. All three finished in the top 10 in the 2009 Districts at Watkins Memorial with Potes winning it outright. The Freddies finished 14th in the state as a team.
Not to be outdone, their coach, Denny Stevens, was named 2009 Mount Vernon News boys Cross Country Coach of the Year. He was really happy for the way his boys rallied when Potes was hobbled.
‘Delaney was on a mission,’ said Stevens, who has completed his 29th season as coach. “He did what seniors are supposed to do. He stepped up, like at the (MBC) conference race. He just blossomed. He wanted to be top 50 in the state and he achieved that. Isaac was injured. There’s nothing you can do about that. He did everything he could to get as good as he could, but that happens to the best of us. They are both important to the program. So is Sean. So is everybody else. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to work with.”
Also named to the first team was Joey Montoya of East Knox, who was strong all season, edging McGuire to finish fifth at the New Albany Classic in August. He went on to place third at Bishop Hartley in September and wound up the season with an impressive 20th place finish in the Division II Regionals at Pickerington. His teammate Paul Blanchard will join him as an Honorable Mention.
Also on the first team is regional-qualifier Tyler Van Sickle of Utica, who finished sixth at the districts. Centerburg’s Thomas Thatcher and Mount Vernon’s John Fleming are Honorable Mentions.
